Coronis Market (Newport, NH)

Today’s post is about guilty pleasures, and the eating of food that you either know or suspect is (a) unhealthy, and (b) of slightly dubious quality, but for some reason you feel compelled to enjoy it.

One of the best examples I can think of is Coronis Market, in Newport, NH. I’m not even sure I’d call Coronis a convenience store, it’s one of those “beer, beverage, and munchies” store in Newport.

However, they advertise on all their signage that they have “Famous Grinders”, which at one point several years ago compelled me to actually try one (unlike Birney’s Mini Mart down the road in Claremont, that advertises their bizarre “Famous Fried Chicken, Coldest in Town”, but doesn’t actually have fried chicken anymore).

There’s something oddly compelling about the grinders at Coronis. They aren’t made from the finest ingredients (indeed, to first inspection, everything is right off of the Sysco truck, although they do nicely slice the cold cuts to order), . They aren’t toasted or anything special like that. And the ingredient are pretty much your standard sub toppings (lettuce, tomato, cucumber, some sort of homemade “sandwich dressing”, salt, pepper). But, somehow, the result is a sub that’s definitely not a culinary award winner, but oddly tasty. I’m suspecting that there’s some magical combination here at work, with a little bit of the spongy bread, the tangy and fatty sandwich dressing, and the salty and fatty cold cuts that combines perfectly to give a flavorful snack. It’s oddly reminiscent of the $0.75 subs my high school sold, which were also good in that hard-to-define-horribly-unhealthy-but-delicious way.

I wouldn’t want one of these every day, but they are a pretty good treat after a hike.

5 Responses

  1. Adrian 22 Feb 2010 at 22:53 #

    You nailed that one. I had a grinder there two days ago, and everything you said rings true. Nice people who run the store too.

  2. Anonymous 10 Nov 2010 at 11:58 #

    I'VE BEEN GOING THERE FOR MANY YEARS AS MY FATHER GREW UP IN NEWPORT AND MY GRANDFATHER LIVED RIGHT UP THE STREET FROM THERE. MY GRANDFATHER, FATHER AND MOTHER ARE NOW BURIED IN NEWPORT AND I NOW GO TO CORONIS'S TO GRAB A GRINDER AND A BEER AND HAVE LUNCH AT THE CEMETERY. LOTS HAVE CHANGED SINCE I WAS A KID BUT THE GRINDERS ARE STILL GREAT AND THE CORONIS FAMILY IS STILL WONDERFUL

  3. Bradon thomas 09 Sep 2013 at 06:52 #

    Remember going here in 2002 with my uncle William Spanos all the way from California good sandwiches will never forget that place

  4. Denis 29 Oct 2013 at 22:41 #

    Nice story, but the angle of a possibly unhealthy sandwich is crazy. The original grinder has meat, cheese, cucumber, tomato, lettuce, green peppers, salt, pepper, a little olive oil, mayo and bread. Sounds pretty healthy to me. A philly cheese steak, yes, I see your point. A meatball sub, again, I see your point. An egg salad sandwich, a Reuben, pizza, cheeseburger or sloppy joe, probably not so healthy. I think Coronis’ grinders are a culinary award winner. Just ask any local from Lebanon to Claremont, from Sunapee to Keene. I got the secret from Marlene Coronis many years ago (although I think she left out something) and make them at least once a month.

  5. kaszeta 29 Oct 2013 at 22:53 #

    Hey, don’t get me wrong, I love a good Coronis grinder, although I still think it’s a bit of a fat and salt bomb (although if I had them leave off the oil and sandwich spread, it would fix much of that) On the other hand, you are right, it’s probably better than a lot of the other things I review here.

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